OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers Recovery Project Scott Bonnar 45

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share and get your thoughts on my $200 gumtree purchase.
I recently had spinal surgery and my old 26" reel mower had to go and seeing as I'm not allowed to fight fires for 12 months I bought this as a small project to keep me occupied until I'm 100% healed.

I'd like to put a new motor on it and clean it up so it lasts a long time with minimal maintenance. I also love the look of the red reels I've seen.

I'd appreciate any advice as I've never really put anything back together after pulling it apart before.

engine looks ok from here , just a little dark up top there is all have you had it running ? if smokey , maybe a honda might be the go , if its not then nothing really wrong with a briggs and easy to maintain . BUT if it is smoking looks like its been hot once or twice . discoloured up there but seen worse and still good to go .
looks like it has had a tidy up once before , wrong colours but still within requirements .. green n orange . decals you can get here or on ebay . paint is another story chevy orange or international red is engine but as close as you can find to a darker green for the rest of it as it is now looks like alpine green . too light BUT its a personal choice too .
any numbers on the engine cowelling will help id it close enough if it hasnt been changed . they are stamped into it just above muffler or beside it

Hi There BigFella78,

A big warm welcome to the ODK Forum where we all like to tinker and learn in the process.

A restoration project like this can always be good therapy, both physically and mentally.

Well your engine was made on the 18th of November 1976 if my eyes serve me correctly as that close up engine shot is pretty blurry. If this date is correct then it maybe the original engine from that mower but it has the smaller tank on it which indicates that it may be a 2.5 HP engine and not a 3 HP unit. Maybe you could type the sequence of numbers from top to bottom and that way we can identify it correctly and more accurately and that's provided the engine cowling hasn't been swapped over with another.

I note that a previous tenant has had rail fracture issues with the chassis and as such that's why that extra piece of metal has been welded to the leading edge of the rail. I suspect that it was the original clutch body that has worn and created this problem over time and that's why it now has the redesigned newer clutch body fitted. As your photos don't show the mower from the rear I can't see whether the rear rail has had any re-engineering done to it. Also I note that it's ID plates are not there on the rear rail but I can see only one set of holes where they were originally fitted. This suggests that the ID plate was the later Aluminum Silver / Red unit and with that the engine date does suggest that it is more than likely the original power plant fitted to a newly made mower in early (February ~ March) 1977.

Could you please supply some closer shots of the sprockets so that I can assess them properly as I feel the cutter sprocket maybe past it's use by date, but a better shot will clarify.

The engine is missing it's throttle control up on the handle bar and there's something poking out of the rear section of the carby / choke control area. More closer shots will identify this for us.

For now this is probably enough for you to digest after your first post and I'll look forward to those extra shots so that some points I've made can be positively clarified.

Once again a huge welcome to the ODK.

Cheers,
BB

Been a while since I've been on the page. As my recovery took longer than hoped.

I managed some shed time this weekend and attempted to get the motor going..

I think I'm going to have to replace it. I will have to make it easy to start and lift the handle bars a little. Any recommendations on a replacement motor?

Honda gx120 best motor to fit by far dont give up briggs just yet plenty members heer can help you get it running might just need good service carby clean ignition checked
hope your feel better now

Thanks Freebird, I'm getting there slowly, Spinal surgery isn't fun. My yard and lawn are a mess. Looking forward to having cut grass and nice neat lines again.

JM Sales in Mandurah have recommended a Honda GP160 for $360 or a Briggs (didn't give a model) for $350.

Or you can just go to ebay and put in "horizontal shaft engine"
Something like this
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Motor-6-5Hp-Stationary-Engine-Horizontal-Shaft-Millers-Falls-NEW-Warranty-/301668084567?hash=item463cd1ab57:g:jJQAAOSwirZTsKGF

True.. or even something like this?
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mala...5hp-19mm-3-4-horizontal-shaft/1120885253

I thought you wanted a red motor, that blue motor will clash with the green on the mower

Hi all,

or you could even get this and save a tad more.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281140447544?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Cheers,
BB.

BB that motor is from Marinkos just up the road from me, one of the few mower shops left on this side of town, they have all slowly bitten the dust

It would cost $70 in shipping to get it to WA.. lol

Although it is cheaper than the $350 for a Briggs everyone is quoting me..

Hi,

Well it's showing that postage is $32.95 on the listing.

Cheers,
BB.

I could walk up the street and ask them how much it would cost

Thats ok.. 69.55 when I put in my postcode.. Its W.A. (Wait Awhile) I'm undecided if I will source the motor locally and support a local business or order it online..

BigFella, that is the way it goes I'm afraid, I wanted to send a 30kg parcel to North Lakes, up a bit north of Brisbane, they wanted an extra $69 above the delivery cost to Brisbane

Hi All,

A courier company called E-go is probably one of the cheapest around Australia to ship goods with. I've sent 15 kg cartons from Adelaide to Sydney for around $18. You can't beat that !

Honestly Australia Post can go jump at their rip off rates as the same parcel was going to cost me $56.

E-go can be used depot to depot or pick up from the dispatcher and deliver to the door of the receiver, whatever combination of delivery specifications you want they can do and at less than half the cost of AP.

Sadly WA and Tassie are always going to be the most expensive destinations especially when "Handley Page's" are used to fly to Tasmania and can only carry limited payloads.

Cheers,
BB.

BB you are right there, Pack and Send wanted $189 to deliver a 30kg parcel for me. E-go did it for $30. The link you posted for Marinkos is 5 min in one direction from my place and the E-go depot is 5 min in the opposite direction

Wow.. Thanks for the tip on E-Go.. Door to Depot, $11.68

The depot is only 20 minutes up the road..

E-go is in fact the "Hunter Corporation" Australia wide and they are just cleaning up within the industry, why would you use anyone else.

That parcel that I sent to Sydney was picked up from me late on a Monday afternoon and first thing Wednesday morning I received a SMS with a photo of the parcel attached from the receiver, basically one day to Sydney, how can Australia Post compete while they've been continually posting losses with the prices they charge ?

Cheers,
BB.